1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a wireless communication system for use in various devices in which a plurality of cartridge accessories are detachably mounted at a device main body, and relates to an image forming device for a copier, facsimile machine, printer or the like in which a plurality of cartridge accessories are detachably mounted at a main body of the device.
2. Description of the Related Art
In order to facilitate maintenance in image forming devices such as copiers that use electrophotography processes, laser printers and the like, containers that accommodate toner are structured as toner cartridges. A toner cartridge is a cartridge accessory which is detachably mounted at a device main body. In such image forming devices, when all of the toner has been discharged from inside the toner cartridge, a user resupplies toner by replacing the toner cartridge with a new toner cartridge. At this time, the used toner cartridge which has been removed from the image forming device is often returned from the user to a maker of the image forming device. The maker carries out a recycling process of inspection, cleaning, replacement of consumable components, refilling with toner and the like, and then ships the cartridge back to users. If the aforementioned image forming device is a device for forming color images, a plurality of toner cartridges are mounted at the device main body (for example, four toner cartridges, corresponding to black, cyan, magenta and yellow), and these cartridges supply toners of mutually different colors to a device main body side.
As process accessories relating to an image-making process in an image forming device as described above, there may be provided: a developer unit which causes toner to adhere to an electrophotography light-sensitive body (hereinafter referred to simply as xe2x80x9clight-sensitive bodyxe2x80x9d); a cleaning unit which, after a toner image has been transferred from the light-sensitive body, retrieves remaining toner; a charging unit for charging an image-bearing surface of the light-sensitive body to a predetermined potential; and the like. At least one of these process accessories is provided with a cartridge accessory that is integrally supported together with the light-sensitive body, known as a xe2x80x9cprocess cartridgexe2x80x9d. When an endurance lifetime of any of various components that constitute the process cartridge has passed, the process cartridge is replaced with a new process cartridge. Such process cartridges are also often returned from the user to the maker. The maker performs a recycling process on the process cartridge, including inspection, cleaning, replacement of components that have exceeded their lifetimes, and the like. The maker then ships the process cartridge back to users for use in image forming devices.
In recent years, tags (wireless communication tags) that include electromagnetic communication functions and information storage functions have been attached at each of cartridge accessories in such image forming devices, that is, at toner cartridges, process cartridges and the like. A wireless communication device is disposed at a device main body side for performing input and output of information to and from such wireless communication tags. In this kind of image forming device, when the cartridge accessory is mounted at the device main body, a main body control section provided at the device main body can read information stored at the tag of the cartridge and/or write information to the cartridge tag by electromagnetic communication between the wireless communication device and the cartridge tag. Thus, for example, the main body control section can read information corresponding to the type of the cartridge accessory from the cartridge tag. Thus, if a cartridge accessory of a type different from a type of cartridge accessory that should be mounted is erroneously mounted at a mounting section at the device main body, this erroneous mounting of the cartridge accessory can be detected and control for necessary error processing and the like can be performed. Further, the main body control section may write a usage history of the cartridge accessory to the wireless communication tag, based on the number of images formed and the like. Subsequently, information relating to the usage history may be read, by the maker or the like, from the wireless communication tag of a cartridge that has been returned from a user. Hence, inspection work, component replacement work and the like of the recycling process can be performed more efficiently and accurately.
When a wireless communication tag attached to a cartridge accessory as described above is performing wireless communication, information processing or the like, the tag consumes electric power. The electric power may be supplied from the wireless communication device at the device main body side by electromagnetic induction. Thus, there is no need to include batteries or the like as a power source, and this is preferable in view of size reduction and cost control. In this kind of wireless communication tag, a non-volatile memory such as an EEPROM or the like may be used as an information storage element, and thus information can be constantly retained without consumption of electricity.
An example of such an image forming device equipped with a wireless communication tag to which electricity is supplied by electromagnetic induction is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (JP-A) No. 2001-22230. In this image forming device a wireless communication tag is attached at each of a process cartridge and a developer cartridge, which is a cartridge accessory for a developing unit, and a wireless communication device is provided at a device main body side. A transceiver antenna is provided at each of the wireless communication tags and the wireless communication device. Each transceiver antenna is formed with a metallic film wound into a coil shape. The transceiver antennas of the wireless communication tags are respectively provided at outer side end surface portions along attachment/detachment directions of the process cartridge and the developer cartridge. The transceiver antenna of the wireless communication device is disposed at an inside surface of a device front face door, so as to oppose the end surface portions of the process cartridge and the developer cartridge with small gaps therebetween when the door is closed. Viewed from an axial direction of the cartridges, the transceiver antenna of the wireless communication device covers the end surface portions of the process cartridge and the developer cartridge, and has a large area in directions orthogonal to the axial direction. Therefore, electromagnetic induction to the two transceiver antennas of the cartridges by the single antenna transceiver of the wireless communication device is possible. Here, the electricity supplied to the wireless communication tags by electromagnetic induction is weak. However, because the transceiver antennas of the wireless communication tags and the device main body side transceiver antenna are sufficiently close to each other, electromagnetic communication between the wireless communication tags and the wireless communication device of the device main body can be adequately performed.
However, in a cartridge accessory for mounting at such an image forming device, a number of structures and components may have to be disposed at the end surface portion along the direction of attachment/detachment to the device main body. In some cases, so as to avoid impeding these structures and components, a wireless communication tag in which a transceiver antenna is included so as to cover the end surface portion of the cartridge accessory can not be attached to the cartridge accessory. Further, it may be necessary to provide a number of structures and components at a portion of the device main body side that opposes the end surface portion of the cartridge accessory, in correspondence to the structure of the cartridge accessory. In order to avoid impeding these structures and accessories, there are cases in which the transceiver antenna (that is, the tag side antenna) cannot be disposed thereat.
Moreover, if the wireless communication tags are attached at the end surface portions of the cartridge accessories, then, as the number of cartridge accessories mounted at the device main body increases, the transceiver antenna disposed at the device main body must increase in size, or the number of transceiver antennas disposed thereat must increase. Therefore, in an image forming device in which the number of cartridge accessories is large, such as a color laser printer or the like, it is difficult to dispose the transceiver antenna (the main body side antenna) at the device main body such that the transceiver antenna is sufficiently close to and faces the cartridge accessory transceiver antennas (the tag side antennas), without the device becoming large.
In consideration of the situation described above, an object of the present invention is to provide a wireless communication system in which a main body side antenna and tag side antennas can be disposed sufficiently close to one another and facing one another, even when the tag side antennas cannot be attached at cartridge accessories so as to cover end surface portions thereof or when the number of cartridge accessories mounted at the device main body is large, and to provide an image forming device in which this wireless communication system is applied.
In order to achieve the above described object, a wireless communication system relating to the present invention is a wireless communication system provided at a device comprising a device main body and a plurality of cartridge accessories insertably and removably mounted at the device main body, the system comprising: at least one main body side antenna disposed at the device main body; and tag side antennas attached at the cartridge accessories, wherein the tag side antennas are supported by the cartridge accessories such that coil axes of the tag side antennas are substantially perpendicular to a direction of insertion and removal of the cartridge accessories into and from the device main body, and the main body side antenna is supported by the device main body such that a coil axis of the main body side antenna is substantially parallel with at least one of the coil axes of the tag side antennas.
Further, in order to achieve the above described object, a wireless communication system relating to the present invention is a wireless communication system to be used at a device, the device including a device main body, a plurality of cartridge attachment/detachment portions provided at the device main body, and the plurality of cartridge accessories which are respectively inserted at the cartridge attachment/detachment portions and are insertably and removably mounted thereat, the wireless communication system comprising: wireless communication tags attached at the cartridge accessories and each including a tag side antenna formed with a conductive member in a coil shape, a tag side wireless control section for transmitting and receiving information non-contactingly via the tag side antenna, and an information storage device for reading therefrom and writing thereto information in accordance with the tag side wireless control section; and a wireless communication device disposed at the device main body and including a main body side antenna formed with a conductive member in a coil shape, and a main body side wireless control section for inputting and outputting information to the tag side wireless control section non-contactingly via the main body side antenna and the tag side antenna, wherein the tag side antenna is supported by the cartridge accessory such that a coil axis of the tag side antenna is substantially perpendicular to a direction of insertion and removal of the cartridge accessory at the cartridge attachment/detachment portion, and the main body side antenna is disposed at the device main body such that a coil axis of the main body side antenna is substantially perpendicular to the direction of insertion and removal and such that the main body side antenna faces the tag side antenna.
In the wireless communication system relating to the present invention, the tag side antenna is supported by the cartridge accessory such that the coil axis of the tag side antenna substantially intersects (is substantially orthogonal to) an insertion/removal direction of the cartridge accessory with respect to a cartridge attachment/detachment portion. Hence, there is no need for the tag side antenna to be disposed so as to cover the end surface portion in the insertion/removal direction of the cartridge accessory. Thus, even if structures, components and the like are disposed at the end surface portion of the cartridge accessory, these structures, components and the like will not be impeded, and the wireless communication tag can be easily mounted at the cartridge accessory.
Further, in the wireless communication system relating to the present invention, the main body side antenna is disposed at the device main body such that the coil axis of the main body side antenna substantially intersects (is substantially orthogonal to) the insertion/removal direction, and such that the main body side antenna faces the tag side antenna along a coil axis orthogonal direction, which intersects the coil axis of the main body side antenna. Thus, there is no longer any need to dispose the main body side antenna at a portion opposing the end surface portion of the cartridge accessory in the device main body. Therefore, even if there are structures, components and the like disposed at the portion opposing the end surface portion of the cartridge accessory in the device main body, these structures, components and the like will not be impeded, and the main body side antenna can be easily disposed at the device main body.
Specifically, for example, the main body side antenna may be disposed in a space between a plurality of cartridge accessories in the device main body, or in a space between the device main body and an upper end portion or lower end portion of the cartridge accessories, or the like. Such spaces (dead spaces) have rarely been effectively used heretofore. The main body side antenna can easily be made to oppose the tag side antennas while being sufficiently close to the tag side antennas. Therefore, the main body side antenna can be disposed efficiently in space inside the device main body, and information communication can be reliably performed by electromagnetic waves between the wireless communication device and the wireless communication tags. In particular, if the main body side antenna is disposed between a plurality of cartridge accessories in the device main body, a front surface portion and a back surface portion of a single main body side antenna can be made to oppose different tag side antennas. Thus, even if the main body side antenna is made smaller, electromagnetic transmission and reception can be reliably performed between the single main body side antenna and the two tag side antennas.
Further, an image forming device relating to the present invention includes: a device main body that carries out image forming; a plurality of cartridge attachment portions provided at the device main body; a plurality of cartridge accessories insertably and removably mounted at the cartridge attachment portions; and a wireless communication system, which is the wireless communication system relating to the present invention.
Therefore, according to the image forming device relating to the present invention, as is clear from the foregoing explanation of the wireless communication system relating to the present invention, even if structures, components and the like are disposed at the end surface portion of the cartridge accessory, the wireless communication tag can easily be attached to the cartridge accessory so as not to impede these structures, components and the like. Moreover, even if structures, components and the like are disposed at a portion of the device main body that opposes the end surface portion of the cartridge accessory, the main body side antenna can easily be disposed at the device main body so as not to impede these structures, components and the like.
As a result, for example, the main body side antenna may be disposed in a space between a plurality of cartridge accessories in the device main body of the image forming device, in a space between the device main body and an upper end portion or lower end portion of the cartridge accessories, or the like. These spaces (dead spaces) have rarely been effectively used heretofore. Thus, the main body side antenna can easily be made to oppose the tag side antennas while being sufficiently close to the tag side antennas. Therefore, the main body side antenna can be disposed efficiently in the space inside the device main body, and electricity supply by electromagnetic induction and radio communication can be reliably performed between the wireless communication device and the wireless communication tags.